From New Zealand to Japan

When we fly today…

from New Zealand to Japan

… we’re changing continents again. But it’s not that far yet. The flight from New Zealand to Japan only leaves Auckland five minutes before midnight. So more than enough time for everything possible.

In the morning we enjoy breakfast in the Hotel without being rushed or under time pressure. Because the weather is nice, it’s a great way to start the day. We then calmly pack up our seven things and are briefly surprised: it seems as if our clothes in the suitcase are secretly multiplying!

And then, shortly before the clothing Tetris is finished, a fire alarm suddenly rings through the hotel. There is also an automated voice that strongly recommends to evacuate the building immediately. A quick smell test on the balcony does not produce any result that points in the direction of even a match. But down in the courtyard there is already a sizable crowd of employees and a few guests in between.

So we quickly pack up our lives, even less as much life as fits in our backpack and handbag, and join the servants in the garden. They don’t know anything other than that this is not really a test alarm, but really an emergency.

The only surprising thing is that we, along with three or four other couples, are the only guests in the garden! Why this is so becomes clear when we are allowed back into the building after about half an hour and we look at the evacuation plan: The meeting point is of course not in the garden, but on the street in front of the building. Well, nothing happened and next time we’ll be the first on the road, I promise!

Shortly after the lunch bell we hand over the keys, get our car and drive a few kilometers north on SH6. There the Kawarau River has dug itself a deep gorge that is spanned by a suspension bridge. A certain AJ Hackett had his sights set on this historic bridge as an ideal location for bungee jumping – and so on November 12, 1988, the first year-round commercial operation was launched. That day, 28 people paid $75 each to jump off the 140-foot-tall bridge with a bungee cord attached to their ankles.

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To date, a gigantic operation has emerged around this nucleus, in which the focus is still on jumping from the bridge. There are also several platforms to observe the jumpers. On a zipline, three people next to each other can rush down a short distance and then be pulled back up again. Well, there’s endless merchandising around it, of course.

Nevertheless, we watch the operation for a bit before we head back to Queenstown so as not to miss our flight to Auckland. There at the counter, after desperate efforts, the lady manages to check both us and our luggage through to Tokyo. This means we don’t have to walk from the domestic to the international airport in Auckland with our large suitcases.

Unfortunately, the initially cloudless sky becomes increasingly cloudy on the flight to Auckland, so that we can just about see the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. Mount Cook also rises majestically above the haze. Even the lake into which the Tasman Glacier flows can still be seen. What an experience!

After the hike to Terminal 1, we have plenty of time in the lounge to work on this blog, for example. Oh, by the way: sometimes it really turns into work, even though such work is definitely fun – especially when I get positive feedback (!!!).

The Dreamliner on the flight from New Zealand to Japan again has herringbone seating, which, as already described, takes some getting used to. Nevertheless, it is a night flight of more than ten hours and we will be able to sleep very comfortably and soundly. In this spirit, good night!